julianne moore – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

SIRENS – Review by Susan Granger

May 27, 2025May 31, 2025 Susan Granger Bill Camp, julianne moore, Meghann Fahy, Milly Alcock, Molly Smith Metzler, netflix, Sirens

Show creator/runner Molly Smith Metzler must have been familiar with F. Scott Fitzgerald’s description of the rich because it matches hers in in Netflix’s new, five-part miniseries Sirens, alluding to Greek mythology in which sea monsters/mermaids lured sailors to their death. Her story begins with wealthy ethereal socialite Michaela “Kiki” Kell (Julianne Moore) standing on the edge of a cliff, releasing a falcon into freedom. At the same time, Devon DeWitt (Meghann Fahy) is getting out of jail in Buffalo, New York. Devon is exhausted caring for her widower father Bruce (Bill Camp) who suffers from dementia. So she hops a ferry to an unnamed sanctuary off the coast of Rhode Island and makes her way to the palatial clapboard beachfront estate known as Cliff House where her estranged younger sister Simone (Milly Alcock) – having survived a traumatic childhood – now works as Kiki’s personal assistant.

News

WEEK IN WOMEN: Molly Smith Metzler returns to Netflix with SIRENS – Brandy McDonnell reports

May 22, 2025May 22, 2025 Brandy McDonnell golden globes, julianne moore, maids, Milly Alcock, Molly Smith Metzler, netflix, Quiet Coyote, series, Sirens, the week in women, twiw

Emmy-nominated writer and showrunner Molly Smith Metzler, the creator of Netflix’s acclaimed 2021 limited series Maid, has a new, highly anticipated five episode series on Netflix. It’s a dark femme-centric comedy series titled Sirens. Metzler’s first project with the streaming service, Maid, was not only nominated for multiple Emmy, Golden Globe and Critics Choice awards but also spent 14 weeks on Netflix’s global Top 10 TV list and reached the Top 10 in 93 countries.

Reviews

THE ROOM NEXT DOOR – Review by Susan Granger

February 4, 2025February 4, 2025 Susan Granger Golden Lion, julianne moore, pedro almodovar, The Room Next Door, tilda swinton

Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar’s first feature film in English – The Room Next Door, winner of the Golden Lion at the 81st Venice International Film Festival – revolves around mortality and euthanasia, the decision to commit suicide. Aware that her inoperable cervical cancer is terminal, Martha (Tilda Swinton), a former war correspondent estranged from her only daughter, convinces her novelist friend Ingrid (Julianne Moore) to accompany her to a a serenely peaceful rented house – in the woods of upstate New York – where she plans to take a fatal drug dose. Acquiring the lethal pill off the dark web, Martha decides to be self-determined to the end but she doesn’t want to be alone, which is why she asks Ingrid to be in the room next door, to be her witness.

Reviews

THE ROOM NEXT DOOR – Review by Diane Carson

January 10, 2025January 11, 2025 Diane Carson Alberto Iglesias, John Turturro, julianne moore, pedro almodovar, Sigrid Nunez, The Room Next Door, tilda swinton

The Room Next Door follows an ill woman preparing for death. In his debut English language film, iconic Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar faces death head on. It’s not that his earlier films have avoided the subject, but this time the narrative focuses on it. Martha, with terminal cancer, is ready to end her life and invites long-time friend, former colleague Ingrid to share her last days. Surprisingly, The Room Next Door is much more about living than dying; specifically, what makes each desirable, the freedom of life and embracing its end.

Reviews

MAY DECEMBER – Review by Susan Granger

December 6, 2023December 10, 2023 Susan Granger Charles Melton, julianne moore, leslie combemale, liz whittemore, loren king, Mary Kay Letourneau, May December, natalie portman, netflix, Todd Haynes

Do you remember back in 1997 when the tabloids were filled with juicy tidbits about Mary Kay Letourneau, a married schoolteacher who had an affair with a seventh-grade student? Pregnant, she was sentenced to prison and, when she was released, they married and had two more children. Those are the facts. Now filmmaker Todd Haynes has fabricated a story about what their lives might be like 20 years later – when a movie is going to be made about their relationship.

Reviews

MAY DECEMBER – Review by T.J. Callahan

November 13, 2023November 13, 2023 T. J. Callahan Charles Melton, julianne moore, Marcelo Zarvos, Mary Kay Letourneau, May December, natalie portman, netflix, Todd Haynes

First time screenwriter, Samy Burch taps into a vibe of horror meets soap opera as she explores a May – December relationship that mimics that of Mary Kay Letourneau and Vili Fualaau’s illegal love affair and then lawful marriage from the late 1990’s. Directed by Todd Haynes, May December boasts a showcase of actors including Haynes staple, Julianne Moore as Gracie-Atherton Yoo, a convicted sex offender turned baker and controlling housewife. Natalie Portman doubles as the film’s producer and co-star playing Elizabeth, an actress who infiltrates the Yoo home to do research for a film about the family’s past, but ends up changing their future.

Movie of the Week

MOVIE OF THE WEEK November 17, 2023: MAY DECEMBER

November 12, 2023November 12, 2023 Jennifer Merin betsy bozdech, Cate Marquis, Charles Melton, jennifer merin, julianne moore, leslie combemale, liz whittemore, loren king, Mary Kay Letourneau, May December, motw, Movie of the Week, natalie portman, netflix, nikki fowler, sandie angulo chen, sherin nicole, Todd Haynes

May December, inspired by headline-grabbing true stories like that of Mary Kay Letourneau, introduces us to Gracie (Julianne Moore), a one-time teacher who’s been married for 20 years to Joe (Charles Melton), the former student she first slept with when he was 13. They’re living an uneasy but largely happy life in Georgia when well-known Hollywood actress Elizabeth (Natalie Portman) arrives to do some background research for the movie in which she’s been cast to play Gracie. By turns star struck and suspicious, Gracie, Joe, and the rest of their family members take Elizabeth into their lives.

Reviews

MAY DECEMBER – Review by Sherin Nicole

November 8, 2023November 14, 2023 Sherin Nicole Charles Melton, julianne moore, leslie combemale, liz whittemore, loren king, Mary Kay Letourneau, May December, natalie portman, netflix, Todd Haynes

May December is a duel between two women with unclear motives and serious pathologies. Elizabeth is ravenous in her need for adoration, while Gracie is practiced at verbal programming. The level of manipulation is stunning and Samy Burch’s screenplay so well written you’re not sure if it’s there at all—a prime marker of the abuse infusing the story. May December could easily be classified as horror. I was horrified, you likely will be too.

The title of the film is a play on words, referencing the colloquialism “May-December romance.” The word romance is missing because it doesn’t exist here. What we walk away with is the understanding that past wrongs can be inherited as seamlessly as hereditary diseases. And sometimes “the truth” isn’t the medicine we hope for.

Reviews

MAY DECEMBER – Review by Loren King

November 8, 2023November 15, 2023 Loren King Charles Melton, julianne moore, leslie combemale, liz whittemore, loren king, Mary Kay Letourneau, May December, natalie portman, netflix, Todd Haynes

With shades of Hitchcock and Bergman’s Persona, May December keeps viewers guessing and off kilter, in a good way. Subtle, strange and riveting, Todd Haynes and his two compelling leads present a stylish mix of tabloid sensation and a psychological portrait; it’s a heady mix of irresistible but uneasy entertainment.

Festivals Reviews

MAY DECEMBER (Melbourne IFF 2023) – Review by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

August 14, 2023August 20, 2023 Alexandra Heller-Nicholas Charles Melton, julianne moore, May December, Melbourne IFF 2023, natalie portman, Todd Haynes

Todd Haynes is back, immersing himself neck deep in the exact kind of melodrama that he has thrived on throughout his illustrious career. It’s excess ahoy as it be expected, and the screen crackles with the electric ferocity of Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman’s on-screen chemistry. Considering the icky subject matter, then, the film requires a fairly delicate balance; the subject of women sex offenders is not a common site of interest in screen culture. While the camp excesses of the film would in the hands of a lesser filmmaker perhaps push the film into the terrain of bad taste, in Haynes hands, there is enormous empathy for the situation.

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